Delhi's Saffron Sunday: Capital is a hive of BJP meetings as Modi visits Advani and top leaders jostle for Cabinet seats

It was a saffron Sunday in the Capital, with Bharatiya Janata Party leaders engaging in a flurry of meetings two days before the party's parliamentary board is to elect Prime Minister-in-waiting Narendra Modi its leader.

The most significant meeting of Sunday was the 40-minute interaction between Modi and party patriarch L.K. Advani at the latter's residence.

The message went out loud and clear: no one left behind.

PM-designate Narendra Modi with BJP patriarch L.K. Advani during a meeting in Delhi

The party also let it be unofficially known that it would seek to accommodate all allies in the Council of Ministers.

By late Sunday evening, all loose ends had apparently been tied up, and all were aboard the Modi Express.

The meeting of the 63-year-old Gujarat Chief Minister and the 86-year-old former deputy prime minister had quite a build-up.

The BJP, however, let it be known that the formula for taking all allies along was its top priority, and not berth allocation.

Marathon meetings

The saffron parleys began early on Sunday morning, and continued till late evening. All roads led to Gujarat Bhavan, where Modi has been camping till he shifts to Race Course Road.

A number of ministerial hopefuls, including Karnataka strongman Yeddyurappa, senior leader Ananth Kumar and Lok Janashakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan, and his son Chirag Paswan, called on Modi.

Sources said Yeddyurappa, who returned to the BJP fold before the Lok Sabha elections and won a handsome victory from Shimoga, is expected to lobby for a role in the incoming government.

BJP president Rajnath Singh has held discussions at his residence with top leaders including Arun Jaitley and Amit Shah

Similarly, BJP president Rajnath Singh held discussions at his residence with top leaders Arun Jaitley, Amit Shah and general secretary Ram Lal, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh pointman in the BJP.

Party insiders said Modi has been keeping a close watch on political developments in states like Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

In the morning, he met senior leaders Amit Shah and Dharmendra Pradhan. Shah, the party in-charge for Uttar Pradesh, and Pradhan, the party in-charge for Bihar, discussed the evolving political situation in the two states in the wake of the poll results.

Later in the day, Modi reached Advani's residence a little after noon for the first formal meeting between the two after the party's resounding victory. Earlier, the two met at a meeting of the BJP parliamentary board and greeted each other before the media on Saturday.

Modi also met party veteran Murli Manohar Joshi to discuss government formation. The BJP leadership has to decide what role Advani will play in the new regime.

Sources say Advani, who was deputy prime minister in the last NDA government, wants to be Lok Sabha Speaker. He had reservations over Modi being made the prime ministerial nominee, but had to come around at the instance of the RSS.

While party sources claimed the RSS is advising the BJP on government formation, there were formal denials by its functionaries. Naidu, who visited the office in the morning hours, denied the Sangh would have any role in deciding members of the Cabinet.

"It is a routine meeting. I don't know why there is so much of talk about it," he said.

RSS role

Emerging from a meeting with RSS general secretary Bhaiyyaji Joshi, Naidu said he was a former president of the BJP and could say from his own experience that the RSS never interferes in Cabinet or government formation.

"This is a task of the BJP and its leadership is competent to make decisions after consultations among themselves," he said.

Sources say the BJP is mulling a move to induct Rajnath Singh in the government, but the question on everyone's mind is who the next BJP president will be. Former president Nitin Gadkari's name has cropped up, but he is not too interested, sources said. Goa Chief Minister Manohar Parikkar and Shah could be in the running for the post, they added.

As for Rajnath's role in the government, he is reportedly keen on taking up the home ministry. Modi will be formally elected as the leader of the BJP Parliamentary Party on May 20 ahead of taking oath as prime minister.

'Super ministries' is the new keyword in NaMo Cabinet

By Maneesh Pandey in New Delhi

With parleys in full swing before Narendra Modi's Cabinet formation, the buzz from the BJP camp is that the country will see an era of "super ministries," with senior ministers each assisted by at least three junior ministers.

The BJP will be keeping the key ministries for itself, keeping in mind Modi's agenda of performing at the Centre and making a visible difference in governance.

"We're entering an era of super ministries, and some like Railways and Defence will have a Cabinet minister being assisted by at least three MoS. Railways, Defence and Home are close to Modi's agenda of 'visible governance' at the Centre," a top BJP leader said.

The "super ministries" are vital for the delivery on the party's promises like bolstering both external and internal security, fighting terrorism, and modernising the Railways to serve passengers as well as the country's economy.

"The key ministries will be Home, Finance and Planning, External Affairs, Railways, Defence, Parliamentary Affairs, Law and Justice, DoPT, Environment and Forests, Water, Human Resources, Communications, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Urban Development and Corporate affairs. These will be headed by BJP ministers,'' the leader said.

These are ministries where the BJP will not be keen to take as there is "not much left or these are already in media for reasons well known,'' the senior BJP leader said, requesting anonymity.

Some of these ministries like Heavy industries, Labour, Agriculture and Civil aviation were also with the allies in the UPA-II.

The ministries like Coal, Steel and Agriculture could go the Shiv Sena and the TDP. Both are key allies for BJP in western and southern India, the leader said.

President dissolves 15th Lok Sabha

President Pranab Mukherjee has dissolved the last Lok Sabha

President Pranab Mukherjee on Sunday dissolved the 15th Lok Sabha with immediate effect, completing a formality before the constitution of the new House.

The President accepted the advice of the Cabinet and signed the Order dissolving the 15th Lok Sabha in exercise of the powers conferred upon him by sub-clause (b) of Clause (2) Article 85 of the Constitution, Rashtrapati Bhavan press secretary Venu Rajamony said.

The outgoing Union Cabinet, in its last meeting on Saturday under Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, had advised the President to dissolve the 15th Lok Sabha with immediate effect.

After this, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath had called upon the President and handed over a decision of Cabinet with the recommendation.

The Election Commission will now be submitting the list of newly elected members of the 16th Lok Sabha to the President. PTI

Advertisement

Share or comment on this article:

Delhi's Saffron Sunday: Capital is a hive of BJP meetings as Modi visits Advani and top leaders jostle for Cabinet seats